Bus Safety Victoria acting director Lisa Faldon said the company's bus was checked on Sunday and its accreditation was found to be suspended following a successful prosecution.

"The company is a suspended operator. Despite being advised that the 49-seat bus was not permitted to operate, the driver left the scene," she said. 

"We'll be having further interactions with the operator with a view to prosecuting this company again. Last time we prosecuted this operator they were fined $6000."

Ms Faldon the maximum fine for the offence of operating a commercial bus service without accreditation was 240 penalty units, a potential fine of $38,685.

"Bus operators need to be aware we will be down along the Great Ocean Road in coming weeks and months," she said.

"We recognise that the majority of operators in Victoria do the right thing, but where people are wanting to take shortcuts with safety, we will be looking to catch them in the act and hold them accountable under the law," she said.

BSV spent a busy weekend working with inspectors from the Victoria Police heavy vehicle unit, targeting buses being used to bring racegoers to the Dunkeld Races, as well as tourists to the Great Ocean Road, particularly the Twelve Apostles.

Thirty-one buses were inspected at the Twelve Apostles resulting in 10 infringement notices being issued to drivers, largely for log book offences, and two defect notices were issued for buses which did not meet required standards. 

The suspended operator and other operators detected during  the weekend, who were operating outside of the requirements of the law, will be followed up by Transport Safety Victoria and further action taken.

At the Dunkeld races on Saturday 35 buses were inspected with six buses found to be operating without the required accreditation. 

Ms Faldon said two buses were grounded, with those operators having to make other arrangements to get their passengers home. 

Six infringement notices were also issued by the Victoria Police HVU for fatigue-related offences and for drivers not maintaining their work diaries as required. 

A number of defective vehicles were detected, with defect notices issued for those buses.

Ms Faldon said TSV greatly appreciated the participation of the Victoria Police heavy vehicles unit and local police from Hamilton and Port Campbell in undertaking our compliance activities.

“Our compliance and audit teams have gathered a body of evidence that tells us that some tour and charter operators are choosing to operate outside of the law, and this has significant implications for the safety of the passengers on their buses, as well as other road users,” she said.

“We see over 50 million visits to regional Victoria every year from both overseas and domestic visitors, and around 10 percent of those are to the Great Ocean Road area. 

"Many of those visitors, particularly overseas visitors, may be unaware of the laws in place to ensure that bus operators meet established safety requirements.”

Ms Faldon said it was essential that people operating bus services were appropriately accredited, that their buses met the required safety standards and that drivers held the required license. 

"It’s also important that when long distances are involved, that drivers are managing fatigue appropriately," she said.

"These are safety non-negotiables and we and our compliance partners will continue to hold operators accountable to meet these standards.

“This activity, and other BSV compliance work, demonstrates how seriously we take the safety of people who use buses in Victoria, including the tourists to this very popular part of regional Victoria.”

Ms Faldon said  BSV anticipated a busy summer season with growing interest in visiting Victoria’s natural attractions.

"Where operators are taking tourists they can expect to see us waiting to make sure that passengers are not being put at risk," she said.